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i 

CJ l\. 03C,O,op ^N^- U ./v^pv^- 



THE LAMBS 



The Lambs 



a Crageti^ 



BY 



ROBERT GRANT 

author of 

"confessions of a frivolous girl,'' "the little tin gods 

ON wheels," etc. 



ILLUSTRATED 





. i 1882, 



BOSTON 

JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY 

1883 



76 ''7^'^ 

? 3 



Ccpyright, 1882, 
By the Century Company and James R. Osgood and Co. 



All rights reserved. 



University Press: 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

Headpiece : The Lambs 9 

Cully 10 

Phipps 13 

" T is the time for a ' flyer '" 14 

HOBBS 16 

" We once were guileless " 18 

Briggs . 21 

Mike and Briggs 23 

" The earnings of ' Denver '" 24 

" Buy me a hundred "... 26 

" A mint 

Of strong stuff" 29 

" Buv me two hundred ' Lake Shore ' " 31 



6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

" The market weakens " 34 

" The terrible chinch-bugs 

Have climbed up the telegraph poles "...,.., 37 

" We need more ' margin ' " 39 

" A moderate profit "... 40 

" The bottom 's dropping out " 43 

" Should you consider it a prudent move ? " 44 

" We have been there ourselves " 47 

" Mr. Brown sends word " 48 

" The market 's whooping " 50 

'"T is a cold day for me " 52 

" The Western advices " 53 

Mike, with, telegrams 54 

" Three thousand out of pocket ! " 56 

"I'm off. Goodnight!" 57 

Phipps sinks into a chair 59 

Tailpiece : Curtain 61 



2Dramati^ ^er^onae* 

Briggs, a broker (Briggs, Brown, & Co.). 

HoBBS, clerk of Briggs. 

Ci]i.L,Y, janitor of Briggs. 

Phipps, a customer. 

Mike, a telegraph bog. 

Choruses of Bulls, Bears, Shorn Lambs, etc. 

[The scene of the tragedy is the outer office of Briggs, Brown, 
& Co., " Bankers and Brokers in Stocks, Bonds, and other Secu- 
rities," Wall Street, New York. The rising of the curtain reveals 
the " ticker " in operation. The market has just opened. Upon 
the right and left of the stage, respectively, are arranged the 
choruses of bull and bear operators. In front, after the manner 
of the old Greek chorus, stand a group of speculators who have 
been sold out in former days, but still continue to shadow the 
tape as a chorus of shorn lambs. The office is handsomely fur- 
nished. The centre-table is strewn with a variety of journals re- 
lating to money matters, such as the " Wall Street Daily Truth," 
" The Financial Independent," " The Investor's Electric Light," 
etc. Cully, the janitor, who has just finished sweeping, stands 
in the foreground, broom in hand.] 




^(Gi^ 



CULLY. 



I AM the Janitor of Briggs and Brown. 
For many a day, year in, year out, have I 
Guarded the threshold of this ancient firm 
And earned my bread by sweeping. Time has scored 
Deep furrows on this brow, and tinged these locks 
That erst were brown, with silver. I have seen 
Since first the boss engaged me as a boy 
To run on errands and to fire tlie furnace, 



10 



THE LAMBS. 




Full many a mortal rise from rags and ruin 
To ease and affluence and bonded greatness ; 
Full many a mortal fall from splurge and splendor 
To care and debt and seedy unimportance, 
Ere on the tape the shrill recording " ticker " 



THE LAMBS. 11 

Has scored ten times its fate-abounding figures. 

All, Destiny I grim ruler of the ages, 

What boots it to resist thee ? Thou art mighty. 

Stern and relentless as the flame and falchion. 

Thou hurriest man, the puppet, to his sorrow. 

E'en as a leaflet by the storm is hurried. 

Ah, venturous mortal ! though the heavens be smiling, 

And human plans prevail, trust not to seeming ! 

An hour will come — who can foretell its coming ? — 

When Ate's torch shall blaze in cruel lustre. 

And Ate's brazen sandal stamp in ashes 

The fruit of man's endeavor. Lo ! approaches 

With fawnlike tread that speaks the soul that gambols 

Upon the turf, nor dreams of wolf or vulture. 

Another innocent toward these shambles. 

Tears fill these ancient eyes, and fain would whisper : 

" Begone, fair youth ! Who enters these pale portals 

Must leave all hope behind him." But I dare not, 

For here I earn the bread that feeds my children, 



12 THE LAMBS. 

Who, if I were shot out, would starve and perish. 
One must be selfish in this world of salvage. 

\_Enter Phipps, shyly.'] 



CHOKUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

Oh ! mark the worthy man, whose cheeks are moist 
With anguish for another. Yet hot tears 
Avail not in the face of Heaven's decree. 
Whate'er the gods have willed will come to pass, 
Though Titans roar. Behold the gentle youth, 
Who hither moves with velvet steps of fate, 
Nor dreads the net the wily fowler spreads 
For grass-green freshness. But we know, we know. 

PHIPPS. 

I prithee tell me, venerable man, 

Whose silver locks proclaim thee one whom time 



THE LAMBS. 



13 




Has drawn and bent as hunters bend a bow, 

If Briggs and Brown the brokers hang out here ? 



CULLY. 



Ay, gentle youth, they do. Wouldst aught with them ? 



14 



THE LAMBS. 



PHIPPS. 



I fain would speak with either Briggs or Brown. 



CHORUS OF BULLS. 



'T is the time for a " flyer," 

The " shorts " have been fooled, 



And stocks will go higher, 




THE LAMBS. 15 

According to Gould ; 
For the trunk lines have made an arrangement by 
which all the freights will be pooled. 

II. 

A syndicate strong 

Will bull " Wabash preferred " 
Up to par before long, 
We have secretly heard ; 
And the worm falleth not to the late but the matutine 
bird. 

HOBBS (advancing from inner office^. 

Pray take a seat, sir. Upon yonder table 

You '11 find the latest news. 'T will not be long now 

Ere Mr. Briggs returns. He 's in the " board," sir. 

PHIPPS. 

How is tlie market ? 



16 



THE LAMBS. 




HOBBS. 



Strong, sir ; strong as death 
Through the entire list. Even the " fancies," 
That yesterday a little sagged and languished. 
Like summer blooms that droop through lack of water, 



THE LAMBS. 17 

Record a sharp advance. 'T is said the chinch-bugs 
Have perished in the rains, and all looks hopeful 
Among the farmers for the coming grain crop. 

CHORUS OF BULLS. 

I. 

For much higher prices 

We 're looking all round. 
The Western advices 

Read, " Chinch-bugs are drowned," 
And the fields where they formerly fattened with 
promise of plenty are crowned. 

II. 

"Insiders" report 

That " N. P." is the card. 
And the " point," it is thought, 

Cometh straight from Yillard ; 
2 



18 



THE LAMBS. 



As the shaft from the bow of the hunter flies straight 
to the heart of the pard. 

CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

STKOPHE. 

We once were as guileless and reckless as he. 
To-day we are wiser ; but shaven are we 
Of our wool. 




THE LAMBS. 19 

Ood tempers the wind to some lambs that are shorn. 
But alas for the lamb that is tossed by the horn 
Of the bull ! 

We once were succulent as mountain kids ; 
We once were full of blush and lush as he, 
And dreamed of fortunes made as fast as peas 
Fall from the pods when summer clothes the fields 
And maidens sit beside the kitchen door 
Pea-podding. But the end is far from this. 
There is a law as grim and grave as death, 
Which now we know, but then we did not know, 
That whosoever buys, though boasted cheap 
As dirt from ditches, the accursed thing 
Por which he hath not in his private purse 
The power to pay, sliall surely come to grief. 
And he who sells, although the market soar 
High as the kite which kisses the chaste sky, 
The baleful property he does not own 



20 THE LAMBS. 

With hopes to cover his defenceless " shorts " 

Before the advent of the settling day 

Shall surely lick the dust. And this is fate. 

Yet, though we know the law, and though we know 

That, from oblivion of the iron rule 

Of the dread gods who thunder through the sky, 

We all have lost, and, poor as maudlin mice 

Who house in churches, scamper hard for bread. 

There is a fatal charm which ties us down 

With soft yet stable fetter to tlie spot 

Where suffering struck us, and from day to day 

We hang about the tantalizing tape 

And pipe quotations in prophetic key. 

And make brash boasts of what we fain would do 

If we had money. And tliey let us stay, — 

They who are masters of this sinful shop. 

They who wring capital from others' sorrow 

And batten upon grief ; for well they know 

The moth who sizzles in the candle's flare 



THE LAMBS. 



21 



Turns not his comrades from a garish doom ; 
And sticky papers, spread for dog-day flies, 
Fright not sur.vivors by their piles of dead. 

\^Enter Briggs.] 

ANTISTROPHE. 

See hither approaching, with jubilant mien, 




22 THE LAMBS. 

The fowler to gather this innocent green 

In his net. 
He 's bullish to-day ; he '11 be bearish to-morrow, 
As this woodcock will find to his infinite sorrow, 

You may bet ! 

BRIGGS (j>ortly, suave, sonorous, prominent check suit and high 
standing collar with large points^. 

What can I do for you, sir ? 

PHIPPS (jtimidhj). 

I should like 
To ask what stock you think a prudent purchase. 

BRIGGS. 

I never give advice. 

CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

Ah ! specious fairness ! 
He never gives advice ! No, not for Joseph ! 



THE LAMBS. 



23 



\_Enter Mike. He hands Briggs a telegram, and exit.] 
BRIGGS (reading^. 

Advices from Amsterdam say that the Dutch are 



mvesting in " Denver.' 







Its earnings for April show more than eighty per 
centum of increase 



24 



THE LAMBS. 



Over those for the same month last year, and the 
mileage is not any greater. 

SEMI-CHORUS OF BULLS. 



The earnings of " Denver " are something immense! 




There 's no ground to suspect there 's a " nig " in the 

fence. 
We put every reliance on Palmer; he's one of the 

squarest of ^ents. 



PHIPPS. 

Do you not think that " Denver " lias a future ? 



THE LAMBS. 25 



BRTGGS. 



It shows great strength. I think it will go higher 
Before it goes miicli lower. The Dutch are buying. 
Thej are a prudent race, and ne'er slop over. 

PHIPP3. 

I think myself it is a first-rate buy. 

CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

He thinks it is a buy ! sapient lamb ! 

He read it in the " Wall Street Truth " this mornino^. 

BRTGGS. 

I am a bull upon the present market 
And see an undertone of strength. I look 
For higher prices in tlie immediate future. 
There is no fear, I tliink, of shipping gold. 
The prospects for the crops arc most assuring. 



26 



THE LAMBS. 



Tlie statement of the banks allays suspicion. 
And, if there comes not some untoward feature, 
Now unforeseen, to startle the investor. 



1 prophesy a boom 






;^g^^^s^*>i 




The market. 
I may be " left " if I prescribe a limit. 
He ne'er grows rich who is afraid to climb. 



THE LAMBS. 27 

[Briggs sends an order to buy 100 ''''Denver'' at market to 
Brown in the ^' Board.'"~\ 



CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

Thus is it ever. 

We have been there ourselves. 
Tiie innocent lamb 
Delighteth to clam 
At highest of water, 
And thinks himself clever 
While going to slaugliter. 
We have been there ourselves. 

\_Enter Mike, with telegrams.^ 
BRIGGS (^reading). 

Mr. Yanderbilt's brokers have orders to buy, at one 

hundred and twenty. 
Every share of " Lake Sliore " that is offered. He 

wishes to bolster the market 



28 THE LAMBS. 

And strengthen the popular pulse, which of late has 
been weak and capricious. 

CHORUS OF BULLS. 

I. 

Mr. V. in '^ Lake Shore " 
Has inserted a " peg," 

Which, sooner than draw, 
He 'd go short of a leg-, 
For he means to do well by the public ; he 's not such 
a very bad egg. 

BRIGGS Qreadhuj). 

AVe hear that Jay Gould has displayed to a party of 

prominent magnates. 
In order to prove that the rumors about him are 

wholly unfounded, 
The stocks in his safe, and the showing reveals him 

surprisingly solvent. 



THE LAMBS. 



29 



CHORUS OF BULLS. 
II. 

Those taking a squint 

At the state of Gould's stocks 
Report there 's a mint 

Of strong stuff in his box ; 




And it 's meet that the market should stiffen when 
the king-pin is rolling in rocks. 

\_Eiifer messenger with report of purchase of'-'- Denver Tl^ 



BRIGGS. 



We filled your order, but we had to climb. 
We bought at sevent3^ 



30 THE LAMBS. 

CHORUS OF BULLS. 

It now is seventy-two. 
fortunate young man ! freeze onto it, 
And you will reap a bigger profit yet. 

PHIPPS. 

I knew that " Denver " was a first-rate purchase. 
It will go higher, and I mean to hold. 

CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

We have been there ourselves. 

This lamb Avill, sure pop. 

Hold on till the drop. 

For to buy at the top 

And sell out at hard pan 

Is the favorite plan 

Of the lamb. 

We have been there ourselves. 



THE LAMBS. 



31 



PHIPPS. 



Buy me two hundred " Lake Shore " at the market. 

BRIGGS (^sends order'). 

That " Denver " shows you quite a handsome profit. 




PHIPPS. 

I mean to hold ; it will go higher still. 



32 THE LAMBS. 

BRIGGS. 

I see no cause for selling at the moment. 

PHIPPS. 

Is " Louisville and Nashville " a sound property ? 

BRIGGS. 

Parties who claim to know are bullish on it. 

HOBBS (enters). 

Your order, sir, is filled. Two hundred " Lake Shore " 
We bought at twenty. 

CHORUS OF BULLS. 

And it now is higher. 
It will touch twenty-three before the close. 

PHIPPS. 

Buy me a hundred " Louisville and Nashville." 



THE LAMBS. 33 

The profit I have made upon this " Denver " 
Will help me out in case of a reaction. 

HOBBS (to BlllGGs). 

The market, sir, is feverish, Mr. Brown thinks. 

CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

luckless lamb ! 
The end is not far off. We understand 
Thy fleece already by the butcher's hand 
Is grasped, and soon the shears will make thee shorn. 
Then wilt thou wish that thou liadst ne'er been born. 
The crafty gains that looked so well on paper 
Are fading now from sight as fades the taper 
At breath of flame, or as the ripened corn 

Falls 'neath the scythe. 

We grieve to see thee writhe 
Between the bear's paw and the base bull's horn. 

luckless lamb ! 

3 



34 



THE LAMBS. 



CHORUS OF BEARS. 



The market weakens. See how " Western Union " 
Sags on free selling. Sorely sick is " Denver," 
On rumors a receiver '11 be appointed. 




The Granger stocks are "off," and "Northwest" 

staggers 
E'en as an overloaded ship when Boreas bellows. 



THE LAMBS. 35 



PHIPPS. 



Do you advise me, sir, to sell my " Denver " ? 
[^Enter Mike, with telegram.'\ 

BRIGGS. 

We Ve bought one hundred " Louisville and Nash- 
ville " 
For your account, at seventy-nine. The market 
Looks very sick to me. 

[^Going to sticker.'] 

I see that " Denver " 
Has no support. I think things will go lower 
In the immediate future. 

PHIPPS. 

Do you think, sir. 

It would be wise in me to sell my " Denver " ? 



36 



THE LAMBS. 



\_Enter messenger^ with telegram.^ 
BRIGGS (i'eading~) . 

We hear that insiders to-day have been sellers of 

" Denver," 
And have plastered the market with stock at the 

present high figures. 
There is reason to think that the pool has unloaded 

completely 
Its block on the public. We deem it an excellent 

short sale. 



CHORUS OF BEARS. 



I. 

In " Denver " a break ! 

It is rotten as punk, 
And the road-bed would make 

A poor lot of old junk. 



THE LAMBS. 



37 



We 've long had our eye upon Palmer ; lie 's sly as a 
pot-bellied monk. 




BRIGGS (^readincj'). 

The latest reports from the West declare that the ter- 
rible chinch-bugs 

Have climbed up the telegraph poles to escape from 
the violent rain-storms, 

And are eating the tops of the poles, which makes 
" Western Union " unsteady. 



38 THE LAMBS. 

CHORUS OF BEARS. 

II. 

The steamer Britanriic 

Will carry more gold. 
We look for a panic, 
And freely have sold 
The market on news that the wheat crop is certainly 
nipped by the cold. 

BRIGGS. 

I 've always said that " Denver " would sell lower. 
Its management has caused me much suspicion. 

PHIPPS. 

Do you anticipate a large decline ? 

BRIGGS. 

I am a bear upon the situation. 



THE LAMBS. 



39 



[HoBBS enters and whispers to Briggs.] 
We need more " margin," Mr. Phipps, for " Denver " 
Has broken six points in the last few minutes. 




PHIPPS. 



I think it best to let my " Denver " go. 
Don't you ? 



40 



THE LAMBS. 



BRIGGS. 



How does it stand you in at present ? 



PHIPPS. 



The last quotation is just three per cent 
Below tlie price at which I bought. 



BRIGGS. 



You might 
Give a stop order. That, you know, would limit 
Your loss. I 'm much annoyed to think you did n't 




Salt down your profit. It is always best 
To take a moderate profit. 



THE LAMBS. 41 

PHIPPS. 

If it falls 
To sixty-foui', I order you to sell. 
wretched fool, to let my profit slide ! 

BRIGGS. 

To get out at the top is only granted 

The happy few. I think it will go lower 

Before it goes mucli higher. The Dutch are selling. 

\_Enter Mike, excitedly, with telegrams.^ 
MIKE. 

The " peg," sir, in " Lake Shore " 's been taken out 

CHORUS OF BEARS. 

The shrimps have got caught 
Who went into '^ Lake Shore," 



42 THE LAMBS. 

Supposing they bought 
On an utter ground floor. 
If tliey thhik it is cheap at that figure, we 're ready to 
give them some more. 

[^Enter messenger. ~\ 
BRIGGS. 

We 've sold your " Denver," sir, at sixty-four. 

PHIPPS. 

I am well out of it. It will go lower. 

BRIGGS. 

To sell it " short " might make you whole again. 

CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

Within that argument much cunning lies. 
A specious bait conceals the bitter hook. 

[Enter messenger.^ 



THE LAMBS. 



43 



BRIGGS. 



The bottom 's dropping out of everything. 
We need more " margin," Mr. Phipps, for " Lake 
Shore " 




Has broken open. If this racket lasts, 
You '11 see a panic. 



44 



THE LAMBS. 



PHIPPS. 



Then tip out my " Lake Shore.' 



BKIGGS. 



What do you think of selling " Denver " short ? 



PHIPPS. 



Sliould you consider it a prudent move ? 




U 



THE LAMBS. 45 

BRIGGS. 

I see no reason for stocks selling higher. 

PHIPPS. 

I '11 go short of two hundred at the market. 
[Briggs sends orders.'] 

CHORUS OF BEARS. 

We hear that " L. N." 

Is encumbered with debt. 
There ne'er was a hen 
That was able to set 
On more eggs than her body would cover, without 
some eggs rotting, you bet ! 

PHIPPS. 

Is what they say of " Louisville and Nashville " 
Authentic ? 



46 THE LAMBS. 

BRIGGS. 

I have reason to believe so. 
It has absorbed a host of other lines, 
And is much watered. I should feel alarm 
If I owned any at these fancy prices. 

PHIPPS. 

Tip out my " Louisville and Nashville," then, 

And sell two hundred " Lake Shore " short. I fancy 

I'll get it back at largely lower figures. 

[Briggs sends orders.~\ 

CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 

We have been there ourselves. 
To sell what he 's bought, 
If he thinks himself caught 
By the bears and go short, 



THE LAMBS. 



47 




When the market 's liard pan 

Is the favorite plan 

Of the lamb. 

We have been there om'selves. 



\_Enter messenger. ~\ 



48 



THE LAMBS. 



BRTGGS. 

We've sold your " Denver " short. We had to 

slaughter 
Your " Lake Shore," as the best bid was eleven. 

[HoBBS enters and whispers to Briggs.] 




I think we 're near the bottom. Mr. Brown 
Sends word the market is a first-class buy. 



THE LAMBS. 49 

SEMI-CHORUS OF BULLS. 

The earnings of " Denver " are sometliing immense. 
There's no ground to suspect tliere 's a "nig" in the 

fence. 
We put every reliance on Pahner ; he 's one of the 

squarest of gents. 

[^Enter Mike, w'ltJi telegrams.'] 
BRIGGS {reading). 

No gold will be shipped by the steamer Britannic to- 
day, and the grain crop 

Looks healthy, and only requires a little more rain to 
make certain 

A plentiful harvest. We think that all sound stocks 
are cheap at these figures. 

PHIPPS. 

Perhaps it would be wise in me to cover. 



50 



THE LAMBS. 



CHORUS OF BULLS. 

The market 's whooping. " Denver " has advanced 
Two points. The boastful bears will have to climb. 




PHIPPS. 



Do you advise me to take back my " Denver 
And " Lake Shore " ? 



THE LAMBS. 51 

BRIGGS. 

I 'm a bull upon this market. 
I see an undertone of strength. I look 
For higher prices in the immediate future. 
\_Enter messenger.^ 

The late advices say the Dutch are buying, 

And Gould has told his friends that '' Western Union " 

Is good for par. 

PHIPPS. 

Then I prefer to cover 
And stand the loss. 

BRIGGS. 

You '11 just have time, T think, 
Before the market closes. Hurry, Mike, 
And fill these orders. Lively now ! Look sharp ! 

\_Exit messenger. ~\ 



52 



THE LAMBS. 



PHIPPS. 



'T is a cold day for me. This loss, I fear, 
Will wipe me out. 




BKIGGS. 



'T is never wise to sell 
The market short upon a large decline. 



THE LAMBS. 



53 




CHORUS OF BULLS. 



For much higher prices 

We 're looking all round. 
The Western advices 

Read, " Chinch-bugs are drowned," 
And the fields where they formerly fattened with 
promise of plenty are crowned. 



64 



THE LAMBS. 



CHORUS OF BEARS. 

The steamer Britannic 

Will carry more gold. 
We look for a panic, 
And freely have sold 
The market on news that the wheat crop is certainly 
nipped by the cold. 

\_Enter Mike, with telegrams.'] 




THE LAMBS. 55 

BRIGGS. 

We fille^ your orders, but we had to climb. 
We covered all your shorts, — "Denver" at sixty- 
seven. 
And " Lake Sliore " at thirteen. 

HOBBS (coming. from ticker^. 

The market sags 
And closes weak. 

[ The ticker s,to'psr\ 

PHIPPS. 

Please make up my account. 
I am cleaned out ; no " margin " have I left 
With which to venture further. I am dry 
As summer brook beneath an August sun. 
Thus, as we live, we learn. The hoarded gains 
Of tliree long years of toil are swept away 
E'en in a breath. Such is the fate of him 



56 



THE LAMBS. 



Who seeks to climb to fortune by short cuts. 
[IIOBBS presents him vjith his account.^ 




Three thousand out of pocket ! Ah, Fifine ! 
How shall I wed thee now? Oh, hapless hour 
When first I shadowed this seducing shop ! 

{_As, overcome with distress, he peruses the account, the Cho- 
ruses of Bulls and Bears pass off the stage, repeating their 
last stanzas. The market is closed.^ 



THE LAMBS. 



57 



BRIGGS (^putting on his overcoat^. 

The market has closed weak. I rather think 

We shall see lower prices still to-morrow ; 

5ut yet there is an undertone of strength 

That may at any time develop into 

A buying movement. Well I 'm off. Good night ! 

[^JExit Briggs.] 




58 THE LAMBS. 

CULLY (advancing with hroom^. 

The day declines. A silvern silence soon 
Will hold these halls until to-morrow's sun 
xlwakes once more the " ticker's " tedious tune, ' 
And, swathed in sleep, will weary mortals rest. 
Who shall escape his fate ? Fate never sleeps, 
But ever stalks abroad, with Argus eyes, 
And weaves the woof beneath the twinkling stars 
As surely as at noon. Alas, poor lamb ! 
So falls the curse upon the head of him 
Who seeks to earner wealth bv wavs the ffods 
Have interdicted to the race of man. 
Naught in this world is stable, save the fruit 
Of honest industry. The sweat of brows 
*Is sweeter than the gambler's ardent breath. 
Who delves in ditches sleeps secure at night 
Upon a falling market, and, though poor. 
Laughs in tlie face of destiny ; but what 
Shall salve the spirit of the wretcli who trades 




THE LAMBS. 



59 



On " margins " ? Yet time flies. I must to work. 
Who grieves too mucli for others suffers loss. 




[Phipps sinks into a chair, and covers his face with his hands.^ 



CHORUS OF SHORN LAMBS. 



I. 



The gods who in heaven abide, 

And preside o'er the planet of man, 



60 THE LAMBS. 

To stimulate laudable pride 

In his heart, since time began, 
For mortals a law have cast. 

As the pitcher is cast for the ewer, 
That the slow alone shall last, 

The gradual only endure ; 
And that wealth which grows in a night 

In a night shall fade away, 
As the morning mists take flight 

At a glance of the eye of day. 

II. 

Success is labor's prize. 

Work is the mother of Fame, 

And who on a " boom " shall rise 
To the height of an honest name ? 

The bee by industry reapeth 

The stores which enrich the hives ; 

All that is thrifty creepeth, 



THE LAMBS. 



61 



For toil is the law of lives. 
And he who reaps without sowing 

A bitter harvest reaps. 
The law of gradual growing 

Is a law that never sleeps. 

[ Curtain.'] 




II 



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